Category Archives: New Zealand

Aotearoa's touring circuit is about to burst into action once more in 2022, with local lineups already packing out venues and a massive wave of international artists set to hit our shores soon. Riding the crest of that wave will be Perth psych-surf stars Great Gable, who've unveiled brand new dates for their keenly awaited New Zealand tour, initially announced back in July just before Delta's arrival popped the Trans-Tasman bubble. Fresh signees to Matt Corby's new imprint Rainbow Valley Records, listen up to Great Gable's 2021 singles 'Hazy' and 'Another Day' below and note Dunedin's event has moved to Dive all UTR ticket holders have been emailed direct with details (check your promotions and spam folders)...

"Your current tickets are automatically valid for the new date if you can make it, no action is needed on your end, & well see you soon! If youre unable to attend the new date, you can request a refund by Fri 14th of January, 2022. Thank you so much for your support, we look forward to seeing you in June. Big love, GG xx"

Great Gable NZ Tour

Thursday 9th June - Yonder, Queenstown*Friday 10th June - Dive, Dunedin*Saturday 11th June - The Loons, Lyttelton*Thursday 16th June - The Tuning Fork, Auckland [licenced + all ages]Friday 17th June - Yot Club, Raglan*Saturday 18th June - Totara St, Mt MaunganuiSaturday 25th June - Meow, Wellington

*Select tickets on sale HERE via UTR

Press release:

Off the back of a solid 2020 which saw them release their debut album Tracing Faces, hit #4 in the ARIA Vinyl Charts, spend weeks in the Top 10 most played songs on triple j and broadcast their first Live At The Wireless, Great Gable are heading over the ditch for a massive run of shows across New Zealand.

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Great Gable Announce New Dates For New Zealand Tour - Undertheradar

IPL 2022 auction is the next big thing that Indian cricket fans are excited about. Two new teams are going to be part of IPL 2022, making it a 10-team tournament this time. Recently, the 8 teams announced their retention lists during which they retained a total of 27 players.

There are many New Zealand players who are part of the Indian Premier League. Players like Kane Williamson, Lockie Ferguson, Trent Boult, and Kyle Jamieson played an important role for their respective teams during IPL 2021. Some Kiwi players will be in the limelight during IPL 2022 auction. In this listicle, we take a glance at 5 New Zealand players who can fetch the highest bid during IPL 2021 auction.

IPL 2022 Auction | IPL 2022 Teams | IPL News and Updates | IPL 2022 Schedule | ICC Teams Rankings | ICC Players Rankings

Lockie Ferguson is the first player on this list. The right-arm pacer gave an astonishing bowling show for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2021. In 8 games, he scalped 13 wickets at an average of 17.23 and an economy rate of 7.46. With his impressive bowling performance, he can definitely attract bidders in IPL 2022 auction and earn a big amount.

Also Read: IPL 2022 Auction: 5 England Players Who Can Fetch The Highest Bid

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IPL 2022 Auction: 5 New Zealand Players Who Can Fetch The Highest Bid - Cricket Addictor

In a world first, it has been found leopard seals in New Zealand have been feeding on sharks.

While leopard seals are apex predators who have been known to feast on penguins and other seals, this is the first time researchers have found evidence that sharks are also on the menu.

The researchers, from groups, institutes and universities throughout New Zealand and Australia, sorted through more than 100 leopard seal poos to compile the evidence.

KIRSTY MOFFATT/Supplied

A leopard seal was found with a shark spine lodged in its face.

Dr Krista van der Linde from LeopardSeals.org, the senior author of the study, said the find was next level incredible.

READ MORE:* Increased seal sightings around mainland New Zealand indicate population is rising* Another leopard seal joins local legend Owha in Auckland harbour* Ben the orca who was stranded, run over by boat, now thriving 24 years on

The group looked at the remains left in the poo and, using DNA sequencing, were able to identify remains from a shark.

We were blown away to find sharks were on the menu, but then we also found that elephant fish and ghost sharks were being hunted by the leopard seals, van der Linde said.

These fish have large spines which help protect them from predators and sure enough there were wounds on the leopard seals, sometimes even big spines embedded in their faces one leopard seal had at least 14 such wounds.

Dr Ingrid Visser, the co-founder of LeopardSeals.org and a co-author on the study, said she had studied orcas for 30 years and had seen them eat sharks regularly.

Bejon Haswell/Stuff

A leopard seal lies in the sun on the concrete at the Timaru Yacht club. (File photo)

However, it was surprising that leopard seals were doing this too.

To know there is another marine mammal also munching on sharks, well, that has implications for the whole food web and our understanding of how it all is interlinked.

The high level of shark remains they found in the poo meant sharks may be an important part of the leopard seals diet, van der Linde added.

Supplied

Its possible sharks are an important part of the leopard seals diet, researchers say. (File photo)

Leopard seals are a protected species, mostly found in sub-Arctic and Antarctic areas.

They are sometimes seen around New Zealand, including the top of the South Island and at Auckland's Westhaven Marina.

Advice from the Department of Conservation for anyone who sees a leopard seal basking or swimming in the sea is to let it be and keep their distance.

However, if it is a situation that poses a threat to the public or the animal is at risk, people should contact DOC on the 24-hour emergency number, 0800 DOC HOT (0800 36 24 68).

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New Zealand leopard seals discovered eating sharks for the first time - Stuff.co.nz

A cast of hundreds. A budget of millions and takings into the billions. The Lord of the Rings trilogy captivated the world back in 2001.

And it all started with the mind, and the pen, of one man: JRR Tolkien.

An academic, philologist and First World War veteran, Tolkien is the father of high fantasy literature.

But though efforts had been made to adapt the tale of Frodo and the one ring, none had been successful. Stanley Kubrick reportedly dubbed Tolkiens magnum opus unfilmable.

Why was Lord of the Rings filmed in New Zealand?

It was not until New Zealand native Peter Jackson took the reins that the Fellowships journey to the screen took a turn for the better.

Jackson shot his trilogy all at once in the highlands amid snow-capped peaks and wild moors.

There is a decidedly Scottish flavour to the films - the idyllic village of Hobbiton is just an hours drive from a place called Hamilton. Yet the production could not have been further from these shores.

Glasgow-born actor Billy Boyd, who played mischievous hobbit Pippin, says: Its sort of like the movies are another layer to New Zealand.

The Mori culture is so amazing, obviously the scenery is maybe the greatest in the world, the people are amazing, and then on top of that you have the legacy of The Lord of the Rings films.

That people now call New Zealand Middle-earth is wonderful.

And Outlander star Graham McTavish, who played dwarf Dwalin in the The Hobbit trilogy, adds: I took a photo that I sent to some friends, dwarves on vacation and they refused to believe that this was an actual photograph that I hadnt photo-shopped it.

What was the economic impact on New Zealand?

Reflecting on the gargantuan success of Jacksons trilogy two decades later, New Zealand tourism chiefs reveal its economic impact.

The movie business on North and South islands is now worth 2.5billion annually.

Around 18 per cent of all visitors cite the trilogy (and Jacksons Hobbit films) as the reason they came.

In terms of tourism bucks alone, Tourism New Zealand conservatively estimates that travellers who visited the islands just to see Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit locations have brought in $620million since December 19, 2001.

Thats roughly 1.3million of tourism revenue every single month for 20 years from Tolkien fans alone. Not bad for a nation of just five million people.

Russell Alexander is CEO of Hobbiton, a pilgrimage destination for fans. Speaking ahead of a 20th anniversary screening of Fellowship in the heart of the village, he says: Theres such diverse scenery and landscapes here in New Zealand. It ties back to how Tolkein describes things in the books.

From here, I can go a couple hours south and go skiing in the mountains, or 45 minutes to Mount Manganui and I could be surfing.

New Zealand has contrasting scenery, its all relatively accessible, and it fits into everything Tolkein described.

It is a description which could very well apply to Scotland too.

Jared Connon, junior location manager on the films, says: Middle-earth is wonderful and fantastic and very broad-ranging, going from the Black Gate to the Shire to Rohan.

Those looks are firmly placed in peoples mind that thats what Middle-earth looks like. New Zealand is definitely the look of Middle-earth."

Connon adds: I was in Hobbiton on the weekend and people asked if I get emotional being back here, and I do. Its part of the fabric of who I am.

It was a no-brainer for Jackson to shoot at home. As cinema-goers the world over discovered 20 years ago, those vistas are breathtaking. In equal parts fantastical and real.

Is Amazon Studios filming The Lord of the Rings in Scotland?

But what if Jackson had scouted locations further afield? What if our own highlands and wild heather had lured production here to Scotland?

It is far from a fanciful idea. Two decades on, Amazon Studios is working on what is reportedly the biggest-budget TV series in history: The Lord of the Rings.

The streaming platform bought the rights alone for 190million.

It is big budget and, as New Zealands success showed, big business.

But now, with season two in the works, a trip to Tolkiens native Britain - welcomed by his estate - has been confirmed and Scotland could play a leading role.

Amazon Studios would not this weekend be drawn on whether Scotland will feature.

However, a film studio in Leith has been mooted as one site, along with backdrops in the Highlands or Hebrides - scenery already celebrated in another fantasy hit, Outlander.

And last night, a spokesman for VisitScotland added: Our surveys show visitors cite productions shot in Scotland, such as Highlander, Skyfall and Braveheart, as inspiration for their travel plans, often many years after the films release.

With the rise of streaming services making new, and old, productions more widely accessible, there are far greater opportunities to engage with this captive audience which could in turn benefit Scottish tourism.

Scotland could be entering a new age of Tolkien Tourism, with all the cultural and economic boons that come with it.

Its a dangerous business adapting books for the screen, big or small. You step onto the road, and if you dont keep your feet, theres no knowing where you might be swept off to.

Just look at New Zealand.

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Lord of the Rings economic legacy could herald new age of Tolkien tourism for Scotland - The Scotsman

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The shortest route for the Sydney-Valparaiso cable runs just south of New Zealand, making Invercargill a possible landing point.

The Chilean government has selected a company chaired by the chief executive of New Zealand founded company Hawaiki as its partner for a proposed subsea internet cable that would be designed to connect Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

The proposed Humboldt cable, which would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, could also potentially enable the first ultrafast broadband connection to Antarctica, which currently relies on satellite communications.

H2 chairman and Hawaiki chief executive Remi Galasso said the project was a fantastic opportunity for New Zealand which is perfectly located to become the gateway to South America.

Chilean telecommunications and transport minister Gloria Hutt said in a statement issued overnight on Friday, New Zealand time, that the cable was one of Chiles most ambitious projects in recent decades.

READ MORE:* Huge subsea internet cable will 'boost South Island's digital economy'* Fibre-optic cable to Antarctica would be 'amazing for science'* Internet cable connecting NZ, Chile and Australia could create data centre industry in Southland* $445m NZ internet cable opens for traffic

Chilean government infrastructure fund Fondo de Infraestructura said the 14,810 kilometre cable would run between Valparaiso in Chile and Sydney, where it would connect with other cable systems to Asia.

It would include several branches to allow for the possible connection of other countries and territories, such as Juan Fernandez also known as Robinson Crusoe Island and Isla de Pascua (Easter Island), as well as New Zealand, it said.

Fondo de Infraestructura said that Desarrollo Pais, a company majority-owned by the Chilean government, and Singaporean-based H2 would jointly promote the Humboldt Cable and make the investment based on the market response.

H2 had contracted Hawaiki to finalise the system design, launch the contracting process, and contact potential key customers, it said.

Hawaiki Cable chief executive Remi Galasso says the combination of Hawaiki Nui (shown above) and the Humboldt Cable would open a new route connecting south-east Asia, Australasia and South America.

French-born Galasso founded Hawaiki, which broke the Southern Cross Cables near monopoly on subsea communications to and from New Zealand in 2018.

Hawaiki, which is in the process of being acquired by Singaporean shipping company BW Group, separately announced plans last month to lay one of the worlds longest and highest-capacity subsea internet cables to connect the South Island to the United States, Australia and Asia.

That 22,000km Hawaiki Nui cable would link Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch with Los Angeles, Singapore and Jakarta, with connections also running to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Darwin, Batam in Indonesia and Hawaii.

One of its goals is to connect a huge data centre that Datagrid another company jointly founded by Galasso intends to build near Invercargill, so it could be used to store data generated by internet services in Australia.

Galasso could not confirm whether the Humboldt cable was likely to run to Auckland, near where Hawaikis existing trans-Pacific cable comes ashore, or to Invercargill to connect directly with Hawaiki Nui.

Antarctica NZ/Supplied

The Chilean cable venture raises the prospect that Antarctic bases could soon be connected by fibre, rather than less-than-ideal satellite links.

He has in the past pointed out advantages of the southern route, noting it would be the most direct between Chile and Australia, and one that would shorten a link to Antarctica.

Galasso said the Humboldt Cable was the missing part of what we call the great southern route, going all along from Singapore, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and Chile.

If the cable between Chile and Australia was routed via Invercargill, it would be technically possible to connect Antarctic bases, given that a cable branch to New Zealands Scott Base would only be about 1700km long, he said.

The international scientific community in Antarctica is suffering from very poor connectivity because of their extreme distance to satellite geosynchronous orbit, he said.

They can't properly access satellites in orbit around the equator which is a major issue for their scientific researches that require large volumes of data. An optical fibre connection would be a game changer for those bases.

Antarctica New Zealand spokeswoman Megan Nicholl has previously said it would be amazing to have fibre into Antarctica because of what it could mean for our science.

The Chilean Government initially contemplated building an internet cable between South America and Asia with Chinese support, before amending that plan last year, reportedly in the wake of lobbing by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompei against that plan.

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Cable that could connect NZ to South America and Antarctica moves closer - Stuff.co.nz

A vaccination centre sign directs the public during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Auckland, New Zealand, August 26, 2021. REUTERS/Fiona Goodall

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WELLINGTON, Dec 2 (Reuters) - As New Zealand prepares to ease its COVID-19 pandemic controls and global isolation after nearly two years, health risks for its under-vaccinated indigenous Maori are posing a challenge for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

Some of the world's toughest pandemic measures enforced by the South Pacific nation are easing on Friday, with businesses reopening nationwide after Ardern's government abandoned its elimination strategy in the face of the contagious Delta variant.

Domestic border curbs in the pandemic epicentre Auckland are due to end mid-December and international borders restrictions will loosen progressively from January.

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But as businesses and New Zealand's majority ethnic European population largely welcome the reopening ahead of the Christmas holidays, some Maori fear further marginalisation.

"It seems like Maori are the most expendable in this country," Maori Party co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer told Reuters. "The prime minister is intent on opening up before Christmas even if it's at the expense of Maori."

Maori, who make up around 15% of New Zealand's 5 million population, now account for the highest proportion of new COVID-19 cases, averaging around 200 a day.

Like many indigenous peoples, Maori fare worse than the rest of the population when it comes to health and well-being measures. Only about 69% of eligible Maori are fully vaccinated compared to nearly 90% of the rest of New Zealand.

Some community leaders blame the low uptake on the government's vaccination strategy, which included prioritising shots for elderly. About 70% of Maori are under the age of 40.

This, coupled with institutional racism, a high mistrust in government and poor health access for Maori living in smaller towns, meant many were slow to get vaccinated or simply left out, Maori leaders say.

"We experience every systemic failure just by being Maori," said Ngarewa-Packer.

RED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT

The new Omicron variant is increasing concerns among Maori, but has yet to be seen in New Zealand, or impact re-opening plans.

New Zealand will ease into a new "traffic light system" from Friday with regions put into red, orange and green zones depending on vaccination rates and COVID-19 cases.

Some Maori leaders have slammed the plan, comparing it to the traffic light system on popular Netflix series 'Squid Game', where players who lose games are killed.

"The PM says no one will be left behind. What she means, is no one will be left behind, except for Maori," another Maori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi said in an Instagram post with a picture from the Squid Game show.

New Zealand emerged virtually unscathed from the first wave of infections last year. Ardern said the government had factored in Maori vulnerability early in its pandemic response.

"We knew it would have a disproportionate impact on our Maori and Pacific population, which is why we took an approach to lessen the impact as much as we could and that led to our elimination strategy," Ardern said in an interview with Reuters.

Older Maori vaccination rates have been in line with the broader population, she said.

"It has been our younger people in some parts of the country where we haven't had those higher rates," she added.

The government did step up efforts to speed Maori vaccinations, including setting up Maori pandemic response groups - moves critics say were too little, too late.

Now, as 1.7 million Aucklanders who were locked down for nearly 100 days prepare to spread out for summer break, some Maori leaders are taking steps to minimise the impact.

In Northland, a popular holiday region with a large Maori population, indigenous leaders are working with police to set up check points to keep unvaccinated visitors out.

"I think the reality is that Maori are worried - whanau (community) are scared of what they see coming and they don't see anything good coming," Hone Harawira, a former parliamentarian and founder of Te Tai Tokerau Border Control told Newshub's AM Show.

"They want to know that their people are going to be protected first and foremost."

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Editing by Lincoln Feast.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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New Zealand's COVID-19 re-opening plans leave Maori feeling exposed - Reuters

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New Zealand will adopt what is being called a traffic light system to curb the spread of COVID-19 and limit the use of lockdowns.

New Zealands planned traffic light system has red, amber and green categories, and gives more freedoms to the fully vaccinated. The biggest city, Auckland, is a red zone, mainly because of its high number of COVID-19 cases. Residents there are allowed into cafes, gyms and hairdressers, but there are limits on capacity and proof of vaccination is mandatory.

Much of the country is under the less stringent amber traffic light. The settings will be reviewed in two weeks.

Michael Baker, a public health and epidemiology professor at the University of Otago in Wellington, said the new system is designed to boost vaccination rates.

There is a band across the central North Island of districts with relatively low vaccine coverage, he said. They are automatically going into the red-light classification. This system has two main purposes. One is really to limit transmission of the virus, so it means that if you are indoors, you are indoors with other vaccinated people. But the other thing it does it is sending a very strong message to the unvaccinated, a very strong nudge -- you need to get vaccinated. So, I think it will be effective at doing that.

New Zealands Health Ministry estimates that about 86% of the eligible population has received two vaccine doses.

New Zealand has had some of the worlds toughest pandemic controls.

The countrys international borders are expected to remain closed to most foreign nationals until well into next year.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the omicron variant is a reminder of why New Zealand needs to maintain its careful approach to the virus.

With 5 million people, the South Pacific country has recorded 12,000 coronavirus cases and 44 deaths since the pandemic began.

The traffic light system replaces previous coronavirus alert levels. A recent delta variant outbreak forced New Zealand government to abandon its COVID-zero strategy in favor of a strategy that prioritizes containment. The previous approach was designed to eliminate the virus in New Zealand through border closures and strict lockdowns.

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New Zealand Introduces New COVID-19 Management System - Voice of America

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses supporters at a Labour Party event in Wellington, New Zealand, October 11, 2020. REUTERS/Praveen Menon/File Photo

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WELLINGTON, Nov 29 (Reuters) - New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday the country will move into a system of living with the COVID-19 virus later this week despite the new Omicron variant posing a fresh health threat to the world.

There were no cases of the Omicron variant in New Zealand at this stage but the developing global situation showed why a cautious approach was needed at the borders, she said.

"Omicron is a reminder of the risk that still exists at our borders," Ardern said at the news conference.

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New Zealand has some of the toughest border controls in the world and plans to keep borders closed to most international travellers for a further five months. read more

It also introduced fresh border measures for travellers from nine southern African nation on the weekend, announcing that only citizens from these countries can travel to New Zealand and will have to stay in state quarantine for 14 days.

Ardern said a lot of evidence still needed to be gathered to know the impact of the Omicron variant.

"It may impact on our vaccines, but it may not. It may be more severe or it may be more mild than Delta ... we simply dont know," Ardern said.

Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said authorities were looking at whether more needed to be done at the borders to keep Omicron away.

"It's really just looking to keep it (Omicron) out while we learn more about it," Bloomfield told reporters at the news conference.

New Zealand moves into a new "traffic light" system from Friday that rates regions as red, orange or green depending on their level of exposure to COVID-19 and vaccination rates. Auckland, the epicentre of the country's Delta outbreak, will start at red, making face masks mandatory and putting limits on gatherings at public places.

New Zealand has had about 11,000 cases so far and 43 related deaths.

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Reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Stephen Coates

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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New Zealand to ease COVID measures this week despite Omicron threat - PM - Reuters

Former New Zealand cricket captain Chris Cairns leaves Southwark crown court in London October 16, 2014. Cairns appeared at court on Thursday charged with perjury relating to libel action against Lalit Modi in 2012. REUTERS/Neil Hall

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Dec 3 (Reuters) - Former New Zealand all-rounder Chris Cairns said he is not sure if he will walk again but that he is lucky to be alive after suffering a spinal stroke following life-saving treatment for a torn artery in August.

The stroke left the 51-year-old paralysed from the waist down.

"I don't know if I'll ever walk again and I have made my peace with that," Cairns told the Daily Telegraph. "It's now about understanding I can lead a full and enjoyable life in a wheelchair but at the same time knowing it will be different."

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Cairns played 62 tests, 215 one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches for New Zealand between 1989-2006.

After retiring from international cricket he was accused of involvement in matchfixing in India while captaining the Chandigarh Lions in the defunct Indian Cricket League in 2008.

He denied wrongdoing and fought several legal battles to clear his name, winning a libel case against former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi in 2012.

In 2015, Cairns was cleared of perjury in relation to the libel case after being charged by Britain's Crown Prosecution Service, with two of his former team mates, Brendon McCullum and Lou Vincent, testified against him.

Cairns said his brush with death had given him a chance to rebuild relationships.

"There have been relationships which ... have fractured that have been reignited on the back of a new perspective on life. It is almost like everybody has moved on which has been heart-warming," he said.

"It was good of Brendon to wish me well ... There is no direct contact between us but the fact he did that was very decent of him."

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Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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New Zealand's Cairns not sure he will walk again after spinal stroke - Reuters

New Zealand has enshrined protections for drug checking in law, in what advocates say is a world first.

The countrys new law to protect pill testing where organisations chemically test illicit drugs to monitor for dangerous contaminants has been voted in by the government, and is expected to pass into law next week.

Were the first country to specifically make legislation to protect drug checking, said Wendy Allison, the managing director of drug-checking organisation KnowYourStuffNZ. While a number of countries, such as the Netherlands and Portugal have longstanding drug-checking services, many operate in a legal grey zone, she said whereas New Zealands laws would explicitly protect the practice.

There are a number of countries that have been doing it under various different formats for a lot of different years. In the US and in the UK They all operate in a legal grey area, that theyre not explicitly illegal. In the Netherlands it is supported, but its not legislated to protect the people who do it or the clients. Thats the difference here, is that we now have legislation that facilitates it.

New Zealand had temporarily allowed legal drug testing, but the new legislation makes it permanent, and allocates $800,000 of government funding to help carry it out.

This legislation is about keeping people safe, the New Zealand health minister, Andrew Little, said in a statement. The drug-checking services we have had running have detected and intercepted potentially deadly substances circulating in the community.

Little said that last summer, 40% of MDMA tested had turned out to be eutylone, a potentially dangerous synthetic cathinone also known as bath salts, and linked to deaths and hospitalisations. He said research by Victoria University for the Ministry of Health found 68% of festival-goers who used drug-checking services said they changed their behaviour once they saw the results.

Across the Tasman, calls for pill testing after drug-related festival deaths in New South Wales received a cool reception from politicians. Australian data released last year found nearly two-thirds of the Australian public were in favour of pill testing at music festivals, but the policy had been rebuffed by leaders including the former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and the Victorian Labor government.

Pill testing had been repeatedly called for in coronial inquiries, including this year in Victoria, in an inquest into deaths of four men and a boy who thought they were taking MDMA.

The conservative approach is, well, just dont take drugs then, but its plainly obvious that that is not stopping people from doing it, Allison said. What we do is provide more information that helps people assess the risks more accurately and in a lot of cases that is making people approach drugs more safely, whether that be not taking them at all, or taking less, or not taking them with other substances.

The funding announced for drug-checking services at festivals will save lives, the Green party drug reform spokesperson, Chle Swarbrick, said in a statement. However, its just a start.

The party is advocating for $3m in funding for drug testing services and premises around the country. Its ludicrous to pretend drug consumption only happens at music festivals and not also bars, clubs and weekend parties Everyone who needs these services should have access.

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New Zealand to enshrine protections for pill testing in world first - The Guardian